In the grand scheme of things, a congressional committees vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over documents related to the failed and fatal Operation Fast and Furious gun-running scandal doesnt amount to a hill of beans.

Even if the full House concurs next week, the matter will be referred to Mr. Holders Justice Department. Prosecutory discretion being what it is these days, nothing will happen.

But President Barack Obamas invocation of executive privilege to shield those documents is another matter. In fact, its a mountain of a mess that could topple Mr. Obama (if the electorate doesnt do it first).

By now declaring executive privilege, the administration is legally stipulating that there was direct White House involvement. And it has placed itself in Catch-22 jeopardy: It was more intimately involved in Fast and Furious than previously stated and it has been involved in nothing less than a cover-up to prevent that public disclosure.

Either the White House lied or the White House lied.

Whether it has done so to prevent being embarrassed politically or to shield criminal activity remains the question.

That question could be answered by the House filing a lawsuit against the administration to force it to comply with its subpoena for Fast and Furious documents. Its the only way to ascertain what this White House knew and when it knew it.

This is a very good question. Those may be great sources for news stories and articles related to this issue. We should seek any out.

I've been looking for recent numbers of deaths in Mexico as a result of Fast And Furious. The latest number I found was at least 200 Mexican deaths but that number was published in 2011.

I also wonder how many deaths have happened inside the United States (other than the two border agents that we know about). I would trust Mexico's numbers more than I would the numbers of this current administration we have in the WH.

It's unlikely our President would tell us how many Americans in our own cities have already fallen victim to Fast and Furious. So far, I think the official number is "zero".

4
posted on 06/23/2012 11:28:13 AM PDT
by tsowellfan
(Should Obama recuse himself from making any decisions on immigration?)

There are at least two whistle blowers in this matter and probably other sources of information that have found their way to Issa’s committee. In all liklihood, Issa has deep insights and/or copies of communications from those involved in running this program. Its a safe bet he knows many of the cards Obama and Holder are desperately trying to conceal.

Kenny Rogers did a song about this president. He didn’t” know when to hold em, know when to fold em ,know when to walk away , know when to run. Most of all, know when to keep his mouth shut. His executive privilege has opened a whole new can of worms. Before, it was Holder’s problem, now it’s a White House problem.

8
posted on 06/23/2012 11:56:10 AM PDT
by fish hawk
(Religion: Man's attempt to gain salvation or the approbation of God by his own works)

Another problem that comes to my mind is that Zippy and his cohorts do not know exactly what Issa has been told and what documents Issa may have that were slipped to him by whisteblowers. So, if Obama shreds any documents that Issa has in his possession, how would the administration account for their disappearance? It would sure look like destruction of evidence and obstruction of justice to hide a crime.

10
posted on 06/23/2012 12:20:51 PM PDT
by JPG
(Don't just talk about it, make it happen.)

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review? And an editorial at that. Methinks something is going on in liberalville. Could it be the liberals/socialists/democRATS have noticed their hypocrisy, and feel ashamed?

That's an AP story in the Wichita Eagle. It's already hanging in the banglist.

AP has been covering F & F, although with the angle that it was somehow "botched," and other ways that try to belittle and misreport the story, e.g. "The agents in Arizona lost track of several hundred weapons in Operation Fast and Furious."

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